1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a clip for holding a plurality of cartridges and a mechanism for rapidly and progressively unloading or loading one or more of such clips in sequence.
2. Prior Art
Fixed ammunition in calibers of 20mm and larger is conventionally shipped by the manufacturer with a cardboard tube around each round, and a plurality of rounds, in layers, in a box. Conventionally, each round is manually and individually removed from the box, stripped of its cardboard tube and inserted into an ammunition handling system. The system might be a link in a belt of links, of the type early shown by F. L. Bailey in U.S. Pat. No. 173,751 issued Feb. 22, 1876, and C. M. Broderick et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 504,516 issued Sept. 5, 1893. Alternatively, the system might be a drum system of the type shown by E. W. Panicci et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 2,993,415 issued July 25, 1961, and L. F. Backus et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 3,696,704 issued Oct. 10, 1972.
Since the modern drum system associated with Gatling gun type aircraft weapon systems may hold over 1,000 rounds, a rather lengthy process is involved in manually, individually loading just one weapon system.